CHARACTER TRAIT:  Obedience                        

Reference:  Ephesians 6:1

Verse:  Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Definition:  Doing what I am told with a happy spirit

Opposite:  Doing what I want to do

SPELLING WORDS

LESSON 4-Sept. 3-6

Pattern Words: Long e-  e, ey, ie, y

1.  brownie

2.  monkey

3.  secret

4.  pieces

5.  honey

6.  equal

7.  grief

8.  yield

9.  only

10.  icy

11.  keys

12.  busy

13.  chief

14.  valley

15.  sleepy

16.  snowy

17.  beyond

18.  believes

High-Frequency Words

19.  favorite

20.  against

Challenge Words

*  plateau

*  landform

SPELLING CARDS AND ENVELOPE

At the beginning of each week your child will bring home an small envelope which has spelling words children have cut into small paper cards.  Students may use these cards to study 5 a day on Mondays, 5 new words on Tuesday plus review the 5 from Monday, then study 5 new words on Wednesday plus review the previous words, and Thursday study the final 5 words and review all 20 words along with the Challenge Words.  Students can practice putting their words in A-B-C order.  Chunking the words into smaller groups over the week will bring a greater retention for long term study purposes.

PARENT CORNER

PARENT CONFERENCES

Parent conference forms will be coming home today with your child’s Homework  Folder. Please sign and send your form in before Monday, September 16th.  Early dismissal will begin on Monday, September 23rd at 12:00. Early dismissal will be each day of the week through Friday, Sept. 27th. Please assist each other by being on time to the scheduled conference as we have only 20 minutes per conference. At conference time we can focus on strengths and areas for future growth together.  I am looking forward to seeing each of you!

HOMEWORK

As the workload increases, please check your child’s folder for any incomplete assignments not finished in class.  Students should finish and return assignments for an improved score.  Students may also take any daily unfinished assignments home to complete and return the next day.  This is a developmental skill which needs to be encouraged and nourished on a weekly basis.  It is part of learning to use time wisely in class.  Thank you for helping our little ones grow in responsibility of assignments.

FALL FUNDRAISER

The last day to turn in cookie dough and magazine order forms is on Monday, September 9.

COACHES NEEDED

FCS still looking for an elementary volleyball coach and an elementary flag football coach. If interested please contact our Sports Department at 299-1695 ext. 123 or email: mregnerus@fresnochristian.com

FCS FRIDAY SPIRIT DAYS

Fresno Christian Schools Spirit Days are here!   Starting this Friday and every Friday after, wear your FCS Spirit Wear.  At the end of each month the K-6 class with the highest percentage of Spirit Wear worn will be the keeper of the FCS Eagle Trophy for a month!  So wear your Fresno Christian Spirit Wear with pride!  Go Eagles!!

KID’S CLUBS

 Attention Parents! Kid’s Clubs are a fun lunchtime activities led by parent volunteers. PTF is looking for volunteers to lead a club or help lead a club during the fall season. New this year, sweet treats for the classroom with the most parent volunteers in Kids’ Clubs! Please contact PTF Kid’s Club coordinator, Jennifer Dansby, at 681-4605 or jenniferdansby@sbcglobal.net, if you have questions or would like to volunteer. Volunteer sign-ups are due by Friday, September 6th.
GRANDPARENTS DAY

Grandparents Day is on Friday, September 13, 2013.  It is a fun day for the children to spend with their grandparents.  Now would be a good time to start making plans to invite  your grandparents and SAVE THE DATE.   If your grandparent is unable to come, feel free to invite a close, senior family friend.

CHAPEL

The staff is organizing chapels for the year and I am  looking for  a Chapel Speaker for Tuesday, November 12 from 8:00-8:45 AM.  If you or someone you know of is gifted in speaking to children in grades 1-6 and would be willing to come as a guest speaker, please let me know.   Please notify me if you know of someone or have a youth pastor at your church that would be interested. THANK YOU!!

BIBLE

We have been studying about how God created the world, how God created Adam and Eve, how Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and the story of Cain and Abel.  We begin the month of September with The Second Beginning, The Flood and God’s Promise, Noah’s sons, and the Tower of Babel.

BOOK REPORTS

Our class will begin an independent reading program.  Students will be involved in reading books covering several genres of literature including, fiction, biography, science, poetry, Bible/Christian themes, folk tales, fables, historical fiction, sports, travel, and hobbies.

Students will be assigned a specific category of books to read for a book report.  Students should choose a book from the school, home, class, or public library that is age and ability appropriate.  After reading the book, students will participate in a variety of book report project styles as assigned by the teacher which may include:  mobiles, diorama, puppetry, book jackets, written or oral book reports, book boxes, book posters, 3D book reports, etc.  You will find attached to the newsletter specific directions for each project as assigned along with a due date.  Students will be marked down a full grade for reports turned in late.

Our first book report will be to read a fiction chapter book and then complete the FANCY FOLDER book project attached to your newsletter.     See attached grading rubric indicating expectations for total points possible.    The book report project is to be completed outside of class.

FANCY FOLDER Display fiction book report projects are due Thursday, October 3th.

READING COUNTS PROGRAM

The Reading Counts Program is a school-wide incentive reading program to develop fluency and comprehension in reading.  Students are inspired to read literature books from their recommended reading list.  Participation in Reading Counts is part of the reading grade.

Each child will take the Scholastic Reading Inventory on the lab computers at school this week to determine their reading interests and comprehension reading level.  From this a recommended reading list of books is generated which will help students select books that are a good fit for the Reading Counts program.  Students are encouraged to read “Red Star” books and then take computer quizzes to measure growth in comprehension on a weekly basis.  Points are accumulated for books read and quizzes passed at 70% or above.  If a book is not in the computer system, students may complete a written book report form to receive points toward the Reading Counts program.  Students can also count their books for class book reports and READING COUNTS at the same time.

Starting next week as part of their Reading grade, students are required to read a minimum of 1 book per week and take at least 1 quiz per week.  They make take quizzes in class or online at home with adult supervision.  They are not allowed to use their book to answer the questions.  Go to Fresno Christian’s website and choose Grades K-6 on the home page then SRI & SRC and then click on Scholastic Reading Counts.  They will need their username and password to access this from home.  Scholastic Reading Inventories may not be taken at home.

READING COUNTS GOALS

Special Reading Certificates
BLUE – 25 POINTS
RED – 50 POINTS
BRONZE – 100 POINTS
SILVER – 250 POINTS
GOLD – 500 POINTS

 Year-End Awards

100 points- Ice Cream Party

500 points- Pizza with the 3rd and 4th grade teachers

JUST RIGHT BOOKS

Students may use the 5-finger rule for finding a JUST RIGHT book.  To determine a JUST RIGHT book the student reads the first two pages:

0-1 Missed Words          Too Easy Reading

2-3 Missed Words          Just Right

4-5 Missed Words          Too Difficult Reading

SEPTEMBER SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDER

The opportunity to order books will be offered monthly.  Scholastic publishes excellent books  for children at a moderate price.  Purchases will be made online only.  I will be sending home the parent information letter for online ordering.  I will not be accepting checks or cash.  Your first book order was sent home today and orders will need to be placed by Oct. 1st.  Thank you!

WRITING

Third graders are learning to write expository person paragraphs.   We will write descriptions of people, places, or objects.  We will learn to use concrete sensory details or descriptive words to present and support unified impressions of people, places, or objects.  Students will learn to use a rubric to analyze their writing.  Students will be tested on these writing skills through Benchmark Assessments at the end of the first quarter.

MATH

This week  third graders will be finishing up Chapter 1 in Place Value.  Next week a Pre-test will go home with your child to be completed at home and returned Thursday as well.  Please look it over and help your child if there is any area they are struggling with before our test on Thursday, September 12.

ACADEMIC END OF THE YEAR MATH REWARDS

All students who reach the third grade level goal of mastering  Form A and Form B of 100 facts in Addition and Subtraction Facts in 4 minutes will receive an ice cream party.  All third graders who reach the goal of mastering Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, and Mixed Facts of Form A and Form B in 4 minutes will become Lifetime Members and will be rewarded a pizza party off campus with the third and fourth grade teachers.

SCIENCE

We will be  studying 6 different habitats in Science.  The Savanna, Desert, Pond, Forest, Polar and Ocean Habitats will all be covered as we prepare for our first field trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. You will see a packet coming home after we study each habitat with the Ocean Habitat being the last one we study before our trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium on November 7.  Details for the trip will be sent out next month.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

SEPTEMBER

Monday, September 2 – NO SCHOOL-Labor Day

Monday, September 9 – Fall Fundraiser Ends

Monday, September 9 – HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSHUA!

Tuesday, September 10 – Elementary Pictures

Friday, September 13 – Grandparents Day

Wednesday, September 18 – Minimum Day @ 12:00 PM – Teacher In-service

September 23-27       Parent Teacher Conferences-Noon Dismissal